Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Contingence (The Rover Universe Series Book 4) by C.E. Whitaker III

Contingence is the fourth book in the YA science fiction series The Red Rover that was sent to me by the author. Orion's sister, Kelly, is on the Yellow Rover base. She crashes into the planet Kethyrie, and is taken hostage and tortured. Meanwhile, as the cadets on the Red Rover base try to find the Yellow Rover, Dr. Marius struggles to cope with his deteriorating and dying body.

In comparison to the other three books in the series so far, this is my least favorite of them. This book switched perspectives from basically filler material to Orion's sister being tortured. The extreme shift from mostly uneventfulness to severe pain and torture seemed sudden and unnatural. The detail of the other cultures on Kethyrie is interesting, and Delly's torture and physical and emotional turmoil was well-written and vivid. A parallel can be drawn between Dr. Marius's opioid issue and Delly's torture, but I was disappointed in the other content aboard the ship. 

The amount of unnecessary curse words bothers me. When used in rare occasions, they could sometimes make a point, however when used over and over they become meaningless and show a lack of sophistication and real emotion. I counted 72 instances of cussing. The sexual scenes and their implications felt out of place and shoved in to make the cadets' sections of the book eventful. Not to mention being a distraction, the only other purpose of these could be to elicit emotion in the reader, and for me that was anger and shock.

It is problematic that I only liked half the book. Contingence is emotionally heavy and I was disappointed in how it felt like the plotline came to a halt, a sharp contrast from the intense and fast-paced previous book.

I still recommend the overall series, but I was disappointed in this one and I emphasize this book being for older YA readers due to the mature content. 

Title: Contingence
Author: C.E. Whitaker III
Publisher: C.E. Whitaker III
Pages: 275
Series: Yes, Book 4 of eventually 15
Rating: 3 Stars
Goodreads

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